#FlashbackFriday Summer 2014

I thought that since I keep referencing the awesome summer, that I would make my first flashback post about it. I took this posting concept from a few blogs I stumbled across and I love the idea of looking back in maybe pictures or words, or both and reflecting on that time in my life.

Now that I'm back in the US and shifting focus back to school and my regular life, it is fun to look back at everything that happened this summer with a fond smile.

My summer started in Ghana, where the Ghana Athletics Association as holding a camp for the local-based athletes. I was supposed to also go to a meet in Nigeria, but some things came up and I ended up not going, so I spent all those two weeks in Ghana, meeting my new teammates and coaches, spending time with my dad, who lives in Ghana year-round, and getting used to training without my college coach there to watch my every little move. It took a lot to adjust to the new environment, the food, and the people, but it was just the first step I needed to take in the long summer ahead of me.

The next stop was Scotland! There was another camp there for all the Ghanaian athletes from the various sports of Commonwealth that was being hosted in Ayr, Scotland. The goal of this camp was to acclimatize to Scotland weather, and continue training with all of the track team. It was here, that I met Naya, a high jumper who soon became my best friend.

Ghanian food was catered to us by the local Ghanian community which was fine for all my Ghanaian teammates, but after two weeks of it, I had already grown tired of it. By the end of camp, I was rejoicing to finally eat something different at the Games Village.

All in all, Ayr was quaint, hospitable, quiet, and the hotel had WiFi, so I enjoyed my time there.

My favorite part of the trip by far was the Athlete's Village for the Commonwealth Games. It had a 24-hour dining hall, the rooms were comfortable, the entire village had WiFi, all the facilities were top-notch, and I met tons of new people who had a lot of insight and told me a lot about their cultures both at home and on their respective teams, and about being an athlete in general and how they lived their lives. It was a huge eye-opener for me, and was definitely one of the major things that has influenced me to continue my athletic career after I graduate from college.

Finally, I went to Morocco for the 19th African Championships. Despite winning a bronze medal here with my 4x100 team, my experience here as the worst. The hotels we stayed at hoarded their WiFi, the food just wasn't to anyone's liking, the meet was run poorly, and after we left we discovered that the maids had stolen from a lot of people on the team! So the experience here was bad, but at least I can cross it off my list of countries I've visited.

I have a million more pictures (and videos), but it would take up way too much space to put them all in this post. I might make a post in the future that is just a gallery of pictures or something. Let me know if anyone really wants to see them!